Farone and Son Funeral Home

Y. — New York is now the 49th state where you can eat a snack or have a cup of coffee while mourning loved ones.Joe Farone from Farone and Son Funeral Home hopes it will create some added comfort for people going through a hard time."It's an exciting change. It allows us to offer more services to families to get through tough times," Farone said.It's up to each funeral home to decide if they want to provide the service, and although it's still in it's early stages, Farone has some plans in the works."We have the space to do that as long as it's not too, too busy here. We can figure out how to offer it. We're working with someone to put packages together as far as food," he said.John Forbes has been a funeral director for six years and says he sees plenty of upside with the new law."It's a good thing not only for people tending to calling hours, wakes and funerals but if someone is diabetic and they need to step away to get something to eat or something to drink..."he said.Now, they won't have to go far.The type of food that can be served are things like sandwiches, snacks, and platters, along with non-alcoholic drinks."They have to be provided by a licensed caterer or the family has to bring those items in. We can't physically purchase items for the family and serve it to them," Forbes explained.What the funeral home can offer is their space."It just alleviates some stress on figuring out what to do," said Forbes.The law was signed by the governor last June and takes effect today. (CNYcentral.com)

Y. -- When Marie Farone opened the text message from her niece and saw a puppy's big brown eyes staring back at her, there was no choice.She would adopt the dog. "Nola," a pitbull-lab mix, has been at Farone's side since October. The curious puppy with floppy ears started coming to work with Farone at Farone & Son Funeral Home on Park Street in Syracuse.Marie and her brother, Joe Farone, run the family business these days. At first, Farone brought Nola to keep her out of trouble with the other dogs at home -- Farone also has a 13-year-old yellow lab and her mother's small terrier.Nola only came on days when there weren't a lot of people or funeral services going on. When she did, she immediately brightened up the place. Imagine what she could do for a grieving family?Farone and her brother, Joe, began to talk about making Nola a real part of the family business."I think it would ease people from what they are going through, and take their mind off the death of a loved one for a little while," Joe Farone said.They had seen funeral homes in other regions use trained comfort dogs. Ballard-Durand Funeral and Cremation Service in Westchester has "Lulu the Goldendoodle."Joe Farone mentioned the idea to friends at a few weeks ago during his bowling night. It ended up being the talk of the bowling alley."Everyone thought it was a great idea," Farone said.To make Nola's new job a reality, they will send her away for intense obedience training for about a month. When Nola returns, the plan is to have her available for calling hours and for families when they are making arrangements, if families are interested.As Marie Farone explained the plan, Nola noodled around under the couch in an office. Farone called her, and Nola came out for a scratch behind her ears.Later, the dog trotted around the 18,000-sqaure-foot funeral home as Marie Farone gave a tour. The subdued rooms brightened as Nola jauntily checked the corners for whatever it is that puppies look for.Marie Farone smiled and called Nola, who paused, then sprinted to her."Pe... (Syracuse.com)